Damen books first orders for Stan Tug 3011

OCTOBER 13, 2014 — Middelburg, Netherlands, headquartered Seacontractors has ordered the first two vessels of a new Damen Shipyards Stan Tug design, the 70 t bollard pull STu 3011, plus its ninth vessel from the Shoalbuster range, a Damen Shoalbuster 3209.

The Shoalbuster will be delivered November 25 by the Damen/Albwardy shipyard in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The two 3011 type Stan Tugs are expected to be delivered in June 2015 by the Damen shipyard in Vietnam.

The order for the three vessels was signed last week by Seacontractors Managing Owner Xander Schanssema and Damen Sales Manager Benelux Jeroen van Woerkum.

"What drew us to the new STu 3011," said Mr. Schanssema, "is the wider design – compact with extra space on deck. And we also knew that we could rely on Damen for our pretty demanding list of customizations."

Seacontractors plans to deploy the two type 3011 vessels in anchoring handling and terminal works. Customization of the multipurpose STu 3011 into an anchor handling tug includes changing the layout of the aft deck and lengthening the aft part of the vessels by 1 m to create an open stern with stern roller. In addition, Damen will install a waterfall winch from supplier DMT and a bow thruster. The STu 3011 has capacity for a 15-20-tonne anchor on deck.

"We've put a lot of thought into these vessels," Mr Schanssema continued, "ensuring they meet the tough requirements set by our clients, particularly in the Middle East. Damen has done a great job for us in developing these customized designs and the end result is worth it."

Mr. Van Woerkum says Damen introduced the new STu 3011 design in anticipation of new MLC regulations and to incorporate an efficient 70-tonne bollard pull and wider design with increased stability.

Damen plans to engineer standardized options for anchor handling and firefighting into the next STu 3011 vessels built for stock.

Seacontractors' new Damen SBu 3209, to be named Sea India, is the first Shoalbuster in the existing fleet equipped with FiFi-1 fire fighting. As well as additional engineering, Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld is supervising the customization of the vessel from stock at Damen Shipyards Sharjah